Francois Pienaar
| Full name | Jacobus Francois Pienaar | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 2 January 1967 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Vereeniging, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 108 kg (17 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||
| University | Rand Afrikaans University | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | |||||||||||||||||
| Position | Flanker | ||||||||||||||||
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| Professional / senior clubs | |||
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| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1997–2000 | Saracens | 44 | (55) |
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Correct as of 2007-12-26
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| Provincial/State sides | |||
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| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1989–1996 | Transvaal | 100 | () |
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Correct as of 2007-12-26
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| National team(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1993–1996 |  South Africa |
29 | (15) |
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Correct as of 2007-12-26
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| Coaching career | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Club / team | ||
| 2000–2002 | Saracens | ||
Jacobus Francois Pienaar (born 2 January 1967) is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa (the Springboks) from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for leading South Africa to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After being dropped from the Springbok team in 1996, Pienaar went on to a career with English club Saracens.
Pienaar was born in Vereeniging, South Africa into a working class Afrikaner family, the eldest of four boys. After completing high school at Hoërskool Patriot Witbank, he won an athletic scholarship to the Rand Afrikaans University, where he studied law.
He made his provincial debut for Transvaal Province in 1989 before being selected for the South Africa squad in 1993. He was appointed Springbok captain from his first test and remained captain until his last, and remains one of the most successful South African captains of all time.
In 1993 Transvaal won the Super 10, Currie Cup and Lion Cup under Pienaar. In 1994, Transvaal retained the Currie Cup under his captaincy and he was voted international player of the year by Rugby World magazine.
Pienaar is arguably most famous for being captain of the first South Africa team to win the World Cup. Prior to the World Cup in 1995, the Springboks were only seeded ninth and were not expected to dethrone the incumbent champions Australia, who had not lost a game in the preceding 12 months.
During the tournament, South Africa defeated Australia, Romania, Canada, Western Samoa and France. They then met New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park Stadium. Pienaar played on in extra-time despite a calf strain and the Springboks secured a three-point victory with a drop goal from Joel Stransky.
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